Top 5 IPL Auction blunders of all time
The IPL auction is perhaps one of the most entertaining and interesting things to watch for most cricket fans across the world. IPL franchises drop incredible amounts of money in an open auction on some of the world's best cricketers and needless to say, they arrive at their tables after thoroughly conducting their research.
After all, when a team spends crores during the course of two days, then it is only natural that they are careful about their money and over the years, franchises have been able to extract excellent value for their money. However, despite all the research and the scouting, franchises do end up spending large sums of money on players who turn out to be poor investments and look like blunders right from the start.
So, as the 2018 auction comes up, here is a look at 5 of the biggest IPL auction blunders.
#5 David Hussey to Kings XI Punjab for $1.4 million, 2011
The Australian right-handed batsman was one of the titans of the T20 game when the format first became popular and hence, it was only natural that he was rated quite highly by most IPL teams. His comfort against both pace and spin, in addition to his clinical hitting abilities, made him a hit in the IPL with the Kolkata Knight Riders during the course of the first three seasons. However, he was released in 2011 and in the auction that took place in the same year, found plenty of takers.
After a tug of war with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kings XI Punjab eventually acquired him for a sensational $1.4 million. However, things did not turn out as the franchise would have hoped for, as Hussey only played 8 games and made his highest score (21) in his first season. He recorded a strike rate of only 101.58.
Things got better in the second season and Hussey finished as their 2nd highest run scorer with 396 runs, but it was hardly the sort of performance one expects from the team's most expensive player. In his last season with Kings XI, he made 235 runs in 12 games and recorded a poor strike rate of only 112.44. It proved to be a misadventure of epic proportions for Kings XI and remains one of the most expensive blunders in IPL history.